Royal Hospital for Sick Children

Burrell Collection Photo Library, 1955 Survey

The hospital was founded in 1882 and located in a house in Garnethill. It became apparent that the building was too small to meet the demand for its services and in July 1914 a new, purpose-built children's hospital was opened by King George V and Queen Mary on the site previously occupied by Yorkhill House. The hospital was designed by John James Burnet and the cost of the site, buildings and equipment amounted to £140,000.

In 1965 faults were found in the steel and concrete structure of the building. Experts declared that the hospital was in a state of "potential avalanche" and must be completely evacuated within three months. At the beginning of 1966 the Royal Hospital for Sick Children was relocated to the Western District Hospital (commonly known as Oakbank Hospital) in Possil Road, and work started to rebuild on the Yorkhill site. The new hospital opened in October 1971.

In 1955 Partick Camera Club set out to create a photographic survey of Glasgow. As the project progressed, other camera clubs joined and each was allocated a district of the city to photograph. Glasgow Museums exhibited the photographs at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum and at the People's Place, and in 1956 the exhibition was shown at the Palace of Art in Bellahouston Park. The photographs are now part of Glasgow Museums' collections.